SAMUEL & ELI
1 Samuel 1 - 3
The
entire book of Samuel is a study in contrasts.
We will see the God of Israel contrasted to the god of the
Philistines. We will see Saul contrasted
to David. The first such contrast which
we shall see shall be Samuel and Eli.
As
the book opens, Samuel is not yet born.
Eli is the high priest over the nation.
There is no king. Neither is
there mention of any judge, although this was the period when the judges judged
over
We
are reminded in this of the importance of the family. We worship a God who delights in working His
will through the simple and the mundane.
THE
PRAYER OF HANNAH
This
story is set in the days of the judges.
It was a troubled time and this is a troubled family. We could even call it a dysfunctional family.
1. The Cast of Characters.
Now
there was a certain man from Ramathaim-zophim from
the hill country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah
the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu,
the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph,
an Ephraimite.
And
he had two wives: the name of the one was Hannah and the name of the other Peninnah; and Peninnah had
children, but Hannah had no children. (1 Samuel 1:1-2).
This story begins with a family. They live in the hill country of Ephraim, the
land that would later be known as
The Levites had no tribal inheritance of their
own. The Lord was their
inheritance. And so, they could be found
residing in the lands of all 12 tribes.
There is an interesting parallel in this opening description of this man
with the opening of the Samson account in the book of Judges.
|
Judges 13:2 |
1 Samuel 1:1-2 |
|
And there was a
certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites |
Now there
was a certain man from Ramathaim-zophim from the
hill country of Ephraim |
|
whose
name was Manoah... |
and his name was Elkanah |
|
...and his wife
was barren and had borne no children. |
...but
Hannah had no children. |
In both cases, a child is given to the barren wife and
this child is dedicated to the Lord for a special purpose. In both cases, the sign of this vow would be
that the hair of the child would not be cut.
Barrenness was the ultimate tragedy to a woman in the
ancient world. It was both a reflection
on her worth as a woman as well as a practical problem in an era when one’s
“social security” was dependant upon one’s children.
In verse 6 we read that Hannah’s barrenness was a
source of contention between the two wives.
Actually, it was probably the fact that there were two wives that
brought about this contention. And
Hannah’s barrenness was regularly used to demean her.
2. Worship in
Now
this man would go up from his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice to the
Lord of hosts in
|
This is the first usage in the Bible of the phrase
“Lord of hosts.” |
Shiloh was a city in the hill country of Ephraim to
the north of
Unfortunately, the attitudes within his family were
anything but worshipful. Instead, there was friction in the
family. Contention on
the way to church. Nagging in the narthex.
The very thing that was supposed to reflect the unity of God’s people
became instead a source of bickering, frustration and tears.
Elkanah would give a double portion to Hannah which would make Peninnah jealous
and then Peninnah would provoke Hannah about her
barrenness and Hannah would cry to Elkanah.
When Hannah goes to Elkanah
with her tears, he tries to comfort her, asking, “Am I not better to you
than ten sons?” (1:8 — note that he echoes the blessing given to Naomi in
Ruth 4:15).
3. Hannah’s Prayer.
Hannah comes to the tabernacle (described here as the
“temple of the Lord”) with her prayer and her tears.
|
Her Request |
Give Thy
maidservant a son |
|
Her Vow |
I will give him
to the Lord all the days of his life |
The sign of this vow would be that of the Nazarite: “...a
razor shall never come on his head.”
As she was praying silently (verse 13 says, “she
was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not
heard”), Eli, the high priest, saw her and concluded that she was
drunk. You see, silent prayer was not
the norm in that day. And so, she
explains what she is doing. He accepts
her explanation and blesses her.
4. The Birth of Samuel.
Then
they arose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned
again to their house in Ramah. And Elkanah had relations with Hannah his wife, and the Lord
remembered her.
And
it came about in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a
son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked him of the Lord.”
(1 Samuel 1:19-20).
The name “Samuel” can either mean “name of God” or
“God who hears.” In view of the reason
which Hannah gives in verse 20, the latter meaning seems to be in view
here. It can also mean “one who hears
God.” Perhaps there is a double meaning.
He was given this name because she had asked of the
Lord and He had heard her prayer. But
when we come to chapter 3, we shall see Samuel hearing the voice of God.
There is an interesting contrast and comparison to be
seen between Samuel and Jesus.
|
Sameul |
Jesus |
|
He was bron
to take away his mother’s shame. |
He was born to take our
shame upon Himself. |
|
Though he was from the
tribe of Ephraim, he served as a priest. |
Though he was from the
tribe of |
|
He was a prophet. |
He was the ultimate
prophet. |
|
He was a king maker. |
He is the King of kings. |
5. Dedicated to the Lord.
Now
when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with a three-year-old bull
and one ephah of flour and a jug of wine, and brought
him to the house of the Lord in
It was common in Biblical times for breast-feeding to
take place until the child was two or three years of age (2 Maccabees
7:27 describes a mother who had nursed her son until the age of three).
Though the child was still very young, Hannah brings
him to the place of worship in
6. Hannah’s Song.
1 Samuel 2:1-10 gives a song of thanksgiving and
worship which is sung before the Lord.
|
2:1 |
Exultation of
the Lord |
Holiness (2:2). A Rock (2:2). |
|
2:3 |
The Abasement
of Men |
A God of
knowledge (2:3). |
|
2:6 |
The Actions of
the Lord |
Kills and makes
alive (2:6). Makes poor and
rich (2:7). Godly versus
the wicked (2:9). |
|
2:10 |
The Abasement
of Men |
The Lord will
judge the ends of the earth. He will give
strength to His king. |
Notice the mention of the Lord’s KING in verse
10. There was as yet no king in
THE
SINFUL SONS OF ELI
T.
J. Campo calls this section a cautionary tale ― a story of someone who
made such a great mistake that their name became a byword for misdeeds.
Benadict Arnold
Judas
Iscariot
Each
of these are symbols of misdeeds. They are warnings that give us lessons of
what not to do. This passage is also a
cautionary tale. It is a story of
someone who neglected to discipline his sons.
1. Eli’s Sons in Contrast with Samuel.
There is a continuing contrast between the person of Samuel versus the sons of Eli. In chapter 1 (1:16), Eli had accused Hannah
of being “a worthless woman” (literally, “a daughter of belial”). 1 Samuel 2:12 says that “the sons of Eli
were worthless men” (literally, “sons of belial”). The term “belial”
is a compound which seems to indicate “without profit, worthless.”
The second chapter of 1 Samuel sets up a
contrast. It is a contrast between the
sinful sons of Eli versus young Samuel who was “growing in stature and in
favor both with the Lord and with men” (2:26).
|
The Sons of Eli |
Samuel |
|
Bullied the worshipers,
despising the offering of the Lord (2:12-17). |
Ministering to the Lord
wearing a linen Ephod supplied annually by his mother (2:18-19). |
|
Seducing female worshipers
who had come to the tabernacle (2:22). |
Elkanah and Hannah blessed and given more children
(2:20-21). |
|
Reproved by Eli for their
sinful activities (2:22-25). |
Growing in stature and in
favor both with the Lord and with men (2:26). |
The story of Eli’s two sons points out a common
pitfall among pastors and preachers.
Such spiritual leaders often give themselves so much to ministry that
they neglect the ministry that they are to have to their own families.
Now
the boy Samuel was growing in stature and in favor both with the Lord and with
men. (1 Samuel 2:26).
Literally, this reads that Samuel was growing “great
( ) and good ( ) with Yahweh and also with men.” This is somewhat remenicent
of the words describing the growth of Jesus who “kept increasing in wisdom
and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52).
2. Prophecy against the Sons of Eli.
Then
a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, `Did I not
indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when
they were in
“`And
did I not choose them from all the tribes of Israel to be My priests, to go up
to My altar, to burn incense, to carry an ephod before Me; and did I not give
to the house of your father all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel?
“`Why
do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering which I have commanded in My
dwelling, and honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the
choicest of every offering of My people Israel?
“Therefore
the Lord God of
“`Behold,
the days are coming when I will break your strength and the strength of your
father’s house so that there will not be an old man in your house.’” (1 Samuel
2:27-31).
The man bringing this message to Eli is described as a
“man of God.” Perhaps the implication is
that Eli could no longer be described in this way. He was still the high priest, but he was no
longer a man of God.
This man was a prophet. He came with a message from the Lord. The message is one of judgment. Both Eli and his sons will be judged. His sons will be judged for their sins. And Eli will be judged for participating in
the fruits of their sins. He had “grown
fat” on the offerings which should have gone to the Lord. And he had done so without rebuking them
(3:13).
|
Verse |
Fulfillment |
|
|
2:34 |
“This will be
the SIGN to you... Hophni and Phinehas:
on the same day both of them shall die.” |
And the ark
of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni
and Phinehas, died (1 Samuel 4:11). |
|
2:35 |
“I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest... I will build him
an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always” |
Samuel &
his Descendants (1 Chronicles 6:23; 6:33).
Zadok & his Descendants (1 Chronicles
29:22). Ultimate fulfillment is Christ
who became our High Priest. |
Notice the contrast.
It is the same contrast which always divides humanity. It is the contrast between those who are
faithful to the Lord and between those who reject the word of the Lord.
|
The last descendant of Phinehas
will be the priest Abiathar who will seek to crown
Adonijah as king instead of Solomon (1 Kings 1:7). |
Even though Hophni and Phinehas are physical descendants of Aaron, their
priesthood becomes a false and a rejected priesthood. And even though Samuel is not of the right pedigree
to be a proper priest, HE is the one whom God will choose.
The theme begun in Genesis 3:15 continues. Hophni and Phinehas have shown themselves to be followers of the
Serpent. And they shall be replaced by
Samuel, the promised seed of the woman. The
lesson of this passage applies to more than priests and prophets and Bible
teachers. The New Testament teaches that
all believers are part of a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). The question is to what priesthood YOU
belong.
THE
CALL OF SAMUEL
|
|
Chapter 1 |
Chapter 2 |
Chapter 3 |
|
Failure |
Penniah sinks to obscurity |
Eli & Sons condemned |
Eli’s line is to end |
|
Victory |
Hannah has Samuel |
Samuel grows great before
the Lord before men |
Replaced by an enduring
house |
1. A Voice in the Night.
The first thing that we must notice is that “word
from the Lord was rare in those days, visions were infrequent” (1 Samuel
3:1). The Old Testament was NOT an era
when God was constantly speaking through His prophets. Knowing this will help us to understand that
there are periods of history when prophecy is not to be found. The experience of Samuel was unusual. And because it was unusual, it was not
expected.
These were the days of the Judges when every man did
what was right in his own eyes. The same
had been true for the sons of Eli. For a
long time, their sin had been met by silence from heaven. But now God is going to break the
silence. Now He is going to speak.
We read in verse 3 that the lamp of God had not yet
gone out. This took place in the
early hours of the morning and the lamp within the Tabernacle was still
spreading its soft light. It was also
true that the spiritual lamp of
As Eli and Samuel lay sleeping, the Lord called to
Samuel (3:4). Samuel had never before
heard the voice of the Lord. And so, it
is only natural that he assumed that Eli was calling to him. This happened three times. After the third time, Eli realized that there
was no one else in the Tabernacle at that the Lord was calling Samuel.
This is a wonderful picture of God coming quietly to
His Tabernacle. He came to where the ark
was. He did this ultimately in the
person of Jesus. The incarnation took
place when God “tabernacled” with men.
2. The Message of God.
And
the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in
“In
that day I will carry out against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his
house, from beginning to end.” (1 Samuel 3:11-12).
The message was that the judgment which had been
prophesied against Eli would soon come to pass.
This must have been a difficult thing.
Samuel is called to minister truty to his
teacher. Up to now, Eli has been the
teacher and Samuel has been the student.
But that changed. Samuel will now
teach his teacher. And it is a tough
subject. He must proclaim Eli’s fall.
3. Report to Eli.
Though Samuel was afraid to deliver this message to Eli,
the old priest insisted and accepted the word of the Lord: “It is the Lord, let Him do what seems
good to Him” (3:18).
4. The Beginning of Samuel’s Ministry.
Thus
Samuel grew and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fail.
And
all
Samuel will be ultimately seen as prophet, priest and
king-maker. His ministry was recognized
the entire length of the land.
Do you remember how this chapter started? It started with the stated fact that “word
from the Lord was rare in those days, visions were infrequent” (3:1). This chapter ends with the recognition by all
the people of
God has spoken.
The good news of the gospel is that He has broken the silence of
history. He has spoken in many ways and
at many times. And ultimately, He spoke
in the most personal way possible. He
spoke through His own Son.
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